Sonoma County has agreed to a $653,000 settlement [1] with Clay Greene, the 78-year-old man who was forced from his 88-year-old partner in 2008. While Greene and his late partner, Harold Scull, never married or registered as domestic partners, the two included one another in their wills and fulfilled the necessary steps to make medical decisions for each other. [caption id="attachment_15782" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="Credit: NCLR"] [2][/caption] On April 27, 2008, Scull fell and was taken to the hospital, according to Greene. When bruises were found on his body, hospital officials reported elder abuse [3] to the county. That would be the last day Scull and Greene ever saw each other. Scull was taken to a rehabilitation facility and an eldercare home where he remained until he died in August 2008. According to the Bay Area Reporter [4], the “public conservator petitioned the courts for a temporary conservatorship of Scull's estate, listing Greene as his roommate rather than partner of 20 years.” The lawsuit accused the county of raiding the couple’s home and selling their belongings. Court documents said that county employees went to the couple’s home and commented on their possessions: “[This] will look great in my living room" and "my wife will love this," employees said. “Other than a suitcase of his belongings and a photo book Harold made for him, he has nothing left of his former life,” said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said of Greene. Greene was forced against his will to move to a retirement home- a separate one from where Scull was living. Greg Spaulding, the county's outside legal counsel, admitted to the selling of Greene and Scull’s property, but denied the accusations of anti-gay bias: “The county's dealings with these men have noting to do with the fact they are gay or a same-sex couple. The county treats domestic violence the same, regardless of the gender, and takes domestic violence very seriously.” The San Francisco Chronicle reported that $600,000 of the settlement would come from the county, and the rest will come from Greene's nursing home. The settlement also sets new regulations forbidding the public guardian's office from forcing people to move. [1] http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_15587750?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com [2] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-scull-greene-top.jpg [3] http://www.365gay.com/news/abuse-allegations-make-case-of-elderly-gay-couple-murky/ [4] http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=4725